Greenfield, Iowa — National Weather Service survey teams have identified damage in Greenfield and southern Adair County indicating Tuesday’s tornado was an EF4 — a thousand-yard-wide twister that was on the ground for 44 miles. It reached peak INTERNAL wind speeds of between 175 and 185 miles an hour.
Donna Dubberke is the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Des Moines.
The National Weather Service analysis has confirmed the tornado moved through northeast Adair County and then dissipated once it reached Madison County.
That central Iowa tornado was on the ground for 41 miles. Officials say it destroyed or caused major damage to at least 26 homes in Polk County and 15 in Story County. Over 150 homes were destroyed in Greenfield and surrounding areas of Adair County. The governor submitted a request for federal disaster assistance for Adair, Polk, Story, and Montgomery Counties on Thursday.
Officials estimate there is at least 11 million dollars worth of damage from Tuesday’s tornadoes. Last week President Biden declared eight Iowa counties federal disaster areas for the storms that swept through a month ago and FEMA is operating temporary Disaster Recovery Centers in Minden and Harlan for residents affected by those April 26th events.
